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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · bear · drill · bark · mouse · wind · season · root

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. season — in sport
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. root — the cause
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. drill — army training
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — the animal
  14. root — of a word
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wind — moving air
  18. season — of the year
  19. drill — the tool
  20. root — of a plant
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. mouse — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com